According to several representatives of the tourism industry, who fear that the economy of major cities will suffer greatly, Canada is delaying in order to allow fully vaccinated foreign travelers to enter the country.
From July 6, Canadians who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to stay in federally approved hotels after returning from abroad; they also do not need to quarantine themselves at home if they do not show symptoms of the disease.
But foreign tourists in Canada are still not expected, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not. “If you are a Canadian who has received two doses of Moderna, you can travel abroad. But if you travel abroad with two doses of the vaccine, you can’t come to Canada. It doesn’t make sense,” he said. – said Michel LeBlanc, President and CEO of the Trade Council of the capital Montreal.
Paris recently reopened its doors to Canadian tourists and urged Ottawa to take an appropriate approach to French travelers who cannot travel to Canada unless their trip is deemed necessary.
“Canada is on its way to becoming one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, but we are late in opening borders for twice-vaccinated foreign tourists,” LeBlanc said.
Hard times
Montreal’s tourism industry is going through hard times due to the lack of foreign tourists. “80% of the business is missing,” Lalumier said. “We send people, but people from outside do not come to us. So it’s a loss for Canada, “said Tourisme Montréal CEO, urging Ottawa to” coordinate “the opening of its borders with other G7 countries.
“The Europeans have come forward, so let’s adapt,” LeBlanc said.
According to Christoph Hennebel, Air Transat’s vice president of human resources and public relations, many workers are likely to suffer from the inaction of the federal government. Jobs that feed thousands of Canadian families who can’t wait any longer, ” he said. Is it urgent. Summer has come, the travel season has come. And we risk missing it again this year.”
On the sidelines of a gas conference in Gasp last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he understood the “optimism and impatience” of the Canadian tourism sector. However, in recent weeks, the Delta option has continued to gain momentum in Canada and other countries and has even become the dominant option among the new cases found in the United States, he said.
“It would be a disaster to go back because we were a few weeks late before we reached the required level of vaccination and the required level of protection,” Trudeau said. “Despite the fact that we are nearing the end, we are not done with this pandemic,” said the Prime Minister.
The border between Canada and the United States is unlikely to open on July 21. In recent days, the Trudeau government has announced that the border may be reopened as soon as 75% of the population eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine receives two doses. Today, 50% of Canadians aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated.
“As the vaccination campaign continues, we will monitor cases, hospitalizations and vaccinations here in Canada and around the world to plan the next phase. Our decisions will continue to be based on public health recommendations and scientific data,” said Federal Office Transport Minister Omar Algabra, wrote Le Devoir.
Recovery planning
At Pierre Eliot Trudeau Airport, traffic has increased slightly as vaccinated Canadians can travel. However, the return of foreign tourists to the city must be planned in advance, said Philip Rainville, CEO of Montreal Airports.
The latter will have to hire staff to receive these visitors, which can take “30 to 60 days.” “Now we need a precise plan to have the necessary time to hire this skilled workforce that we need,” he said.
Rainville also hopes to persuade Ottawa to provide “relief” to fully vaccinated foreign travelers, for example, by exempting them from testing upon arrival in Canada. Otherwise, foreign visitors will have to “wait many hours” for health problems after arriving in the country.
Mr. Rainville therefore asked Ottawa to announce its intentions as soon as possible. “We can’t wait any longer. August is vital for our industry, and tourism is important for Montreal, ”he concluded.